The 16 judges in the district will be elected from three separate districts, with the intention of helping a third minority member win a seat

The Louisiana Senate
has signed off on a new redistricting plan for the 24th Judicial
District Court based in Gretna and sent it along to Gov. Bobby Jindal
for his approval or rejection. Senators voted 39-0 late Tuesday for House Bill 767 by Rep. Girod Jackson III, D-Marrero, with little debate. The bill cleared the House 94-0 on May 8.

View full sizePaul Purpura, The Times-PicayuneJefferson Parish Government Center

Sen.
J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, who handled Jackson's bill in the Senate,
said the 16 judges of the Jefferson Parish district court did not oppose
the measure. The bill has been in the works since before the
redistricting session last year. Jackson said the bill is designed to
help, but not guarantee, a third minority member win a district court
election to the court.

Jackson said of the 16 judges now sitting,
14 are white, and two are black. The bill keeps the number of judges in
the district at 16, Morrell said, but puts them in three separate
election districts. Section 1 covers some of west Jefferson and south
Jefferson Parish to the Gulf of Mexico and will elect four judges;
Section 2 includes Metairie, some of Kenner and other areas of East
Jefferson and will elect nine judges; and Section 3, which spans the
Mississippi River and covers a part of Kenner and the remainder of west
Jefferson, will elect three judges.

According to state
redistricting data, Section 1 is 52.3 percent white, 36.5 percent
African-American, and 11 percent from other racial or ethnic groups.
Section 2 is 78.1 percent white, and 12.2 percent African-American, and
more than 9 percent are from other racial or ethnic groups. Section 3 is
25 percent white, 66.6 percent African-American and about 9 percent
other racial or ethnic groups.